Category: AM-NC

MIL-OSI Global: UK government’s AI plan gives a glimpse of how it plans to regulate the technology

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Khullar, Analyst, Science and Technology, RAND Europe

Anggalih Prasetya / Shutterstock

The UK government recently published its plan for using AI to boost growth and deliver services more efficiently. It also suggests a fundamental shift in how the UK aims to position itself as a global leader in AI innovation.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan gives further evidence on how the government intends to regulate cutting-edge AI.

The timing of this plan, ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit in February, positions the UK to play a significant role in shaping global discussions on AI governance. Its plans to give more powers to the AI Safety Institute (AISI), a directorate of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, could enhance the UK’s influence in international cooperation on AI safety and governance through leading the way on legislation and enforcement.

The previous Conservative government’s approach, outlined in its Pro Innovation Approach to AI Regulation white paper, relied heavily on existing regulators and non-binding principles.

But Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle has said there will be a significant shift in the UK’s regulatory approach, moving from voluntary cooperation to mandatory oversight of the most advanced AI systems. After looking at these systems, regulators could ask the tech companies to make changes.

The government is proposing the Frontier AI Bill, which would make the AISI into a statutory body with the ability to have legal powers rather than just advise companies. The bill could also grant the AISI unprecedented powers to tell developers to share their models for testing before market release, and offer feedback.

How the EU approaches AI

This new regulatory shift differs from the European Union’s approach in two important ways. First, the EU has opted for a voluntary code of practice for general-purpose AI systems.

The EU AI Act takes a comprehensive approach, regulating AI applications across various risk levels and sectors, from high-risk applications in healthcare and education to consumer-facing AI systems. In contrast, the UK’s proposed bill appears more narrowly focused on cutting-edge AI systems before they’re released. Beyond governance, the UK plan also addresses the use of AI in critical infrastructure such as the road networks.

The government plans to go ahead with 48 out of 50 of the report’s recommendations to start with. This demonstrates a strong commitment to developing the necessary foundations for AI advancement. There are also “partial” agreements to consider visa plans for workers who are highly skilled in AI and the creation of a copyright cleared dataset for training, or improving, AI systems.

These measures aim to address crucial gaps in the UK’s AI ecosystem. The focus on infrastructure and developing AI skills suggests maintaining competitiveness in AI requires more than just a favourable regulatory environment, it needs robust capital investments.

Broader risks

However, several challenges remain. The focus on advanced AI systems, while important, has drawn criticism for potentially overlooking broader AI-related risks. There are legitimate concerns about whether this approach adequately addresses the full spectrum of challenges posed by widespread AI adoption across different sectors and cases, such as developers using copyrighted material to improve their AI systems.

The success of this new approach will largely depend on several factors. The ability to introduce effective pre-market testing procedures for cutting edge AI systems without creating excessive barriers to innovation. And also it depends on the capacity of regulators to balance oversight and innovation.

Success will also hinge on the effectiveness of these initiatives in strengthening the UK’s competitive position. .

The UK’s approach represents a bold experiment in AI governance – one that charts a distinct path from the EU.

This plan marks a decisive moment in UK AI policy. The success or failure of this targeted approach could have significant implications for how other nations balance comprehensive AI oversight with focused regulation of the most capable systems.

Paul Khullar has worked on projects funded by DSIT.

Sana Zakaria has received funding from DSIT and UKRI for other areas of work in her portfolio.

– ref. UK government’s AI plan gives a glimpse of how it plans to regulate the technology – https://theconversation.com/uk-governments-ai-plan-gives-a-glimpse-of-how-it-plans-to-regulate-the-technology-248140

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The Holocaust: how ‘rescue archaeology’ is tackling the impending loss of surviving witnesses

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tony Kushner, James Parkes Professor of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton

This year is the 80th anniversary of the Soviet army’s liberation of Auschwitz, the huge and complex concentration and death camp in which one million Jews were murdered.

The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is For a Better Future, a message of hope that is much needed in this extremely troubling world, where the far right is gaining power inside and outside of Europe.

An issue which has troubled those, like myself, who are involved with Holocaust education and memorialisation for some time is what to do when the survivor generation passes on.

This is no longer a theoretical concern. Every year, inevitably and at an accelerating rate, the numbers of Holocaust survivors diminishes. In the past few years in the UK alone, prominent survivors have been lost. Most recently Lily Ebert, aged 100, who late in life became famous through relating her harrowing story through the very modern media of TikTok.

Speaking about her death, King Charles said: “Alongside other Holocaust survivors she became an integral part of the fabric of our nation; her extraordinary resilience and courage an example to us all, which will never be forgotten.”

Indeed, many Holocaust survivors have been prominent in recent years, recounting their testimony to schools and the media. Holocaust Memorial Day, inaugurated at the start of the new millennium, has provided a special place for survivors at both a national and local level.

This year at the University of Southampton, for example, we are privileged to have Janine Webber, a survivor of the Lvov ghetto in German-occupied Poland, speaking. She will relay to a diverse audience of all ages and backgrounds her life before, during and after the Holocaust.

Through the Parkes Institute for the study of Jewish/non-Jewish relations, we have organised this city-wide event for over two decades. We know, however, that this may be one of the last times we will be privileged to have the survivors at the heart of our programme. In 2035 it will be the 90th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and by then few survivors, if any, will still be alive.

Read more:
Charlotte Delbo and the women of Convoy 31000: how researching their stories led me to a forgotten subcamp and Nazi lies in the Auschwitz archive

There is a certain irony in the understandable angst about the devastating prospect of a world without Holocaust survivors (as well as their liberators, and those who helped Jewish people during their darkest hour).

For many years after 1945, Holocaust survivors were not given the space to talk about their experiences – a silence that often extended to their children and wider families. It was only talking in their own small circles that these survivors felt that their experiences would be understood.

Now the situation is very different. Survivors are honoured for their work in educating new generations born well after the second world war. King Charles’s heartfelt tribute to Ebert reflects a wider tendency. Many have been given honours, including a knighthood to the late survivor leader, Ben Helfgott, who died in 2023. Helfgott was one of over 700 child survivors who were flown to the UK in 1945 to recuperate and ended up making a huge contribution to the country.

The Pride of Britain Awards honoured Sir Ben Helfgott in 2020.

In the 1950s and 60s, when the first histories of the Holocaust were produced, the focus was on the perpetrators and the victims were voiceless and seen as “uneducated men” who had no place in accounts of the recent past. All of this changed in the late 20th century when the Holocaust grew in public awareness and interest.

Belatedly, the survivors were rescued from obscurity and the human element of the tragedy came to the fore. Local and then international testimony projects emerged, the largest being the ongoing Visual History Archive which has interviewed close to 60,000 survivors, including of more recent genocides such as that in Rwanda.

‘Rescue archaeology’

I have estimated that there may be up to 100,000 testimonies of Holocaust survivors in video, oral history and written format – perhaps the most related to any event in history. Most recently these interviews have been developed as interactive holograms where students and others can ask questions of the survivors such as the University of Southern California’s Dimensions project.

These projects are a form of “rescue archaeology”, saving the testimony of survivors before it is too late. They are, especially in the hologram form, a way of directly confronting the dilemma of how to educate and commemorate without the survivors actually being present.

The University of Southern California’s Dimensions in Testimony project.

In 2000, the Imperial War Museum in London opened its first Holocaust galleries. Before then the Holocaust had rarely been confronted by this landmark museum. In 2019 a new permanent Holocaust exhibition was also opened. In both exhibitions, survivor testimony was a prominent and engaging feature. Video testimony especially can capture the attention of all age groups and backgrounds.

But even with this remarkable resource of recorded Holocaust testimony, something huge and irreplaceable will be lost when we no longer have the survivors to tell their stories.

Even when survivors are unfocused in their presentation, or they find it challenging to communicate what is ultimately indescribable, there has been a bond between them and their audience. In some ways their presence has made it too easy for those involved in education and commemoration to deal with the Holocaust.

We must therefore find fresh ways of doing justice to their experiences, using their recorded experiences (including those who were killed but managed to write their testimony in the war itself through diaries) and finding creative ways of engaging a new generation to whom this is now distant history.

It would be naive, however, to think that the post-survivor world will be an easy one to navigate. We have been lucky that the survivors have had the courage and energy to share their experiences and must regret that it took us so long to listen.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

Tony Kushner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The Holocaust: how ‘rescue archaeology’ is tackling the impending loss of surviving witnesses – https://theconversation.com/the-holocaust-how-rescue-archaeology-is-tackling-the-impending-loss-of-surviving-witnesses-248202

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The pope’s memoir, Oscar nominees and a mafia exhibition – what to read, see and do this week

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anna Walker, Senior Arts + Culture Editor

I finally got round to watching Conclave last week. Two hours of Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini in Oscar-nominated performances alongside Lucian Msamati and a stray papal turtle. The scandals. The tension. The outfits (also nominated). A sublime experience.

On the way home from the cinema, I became lost in background reading. “How much do we know about real conclaves controversies?” I jabbed into Google. “How close was the film’s pope to the current pontiff, Francis?” As I soon realised, the real Vatican is frequently stranger than fiction. Take Wake Up!, for example, Pope Francis’s progressive rock album (no, really) which was released in 2015.

More surprises are in store in his autobiography, Hope, which was published this week. It’s the first time a pope has written a memoir. As explained by our reviewer, the appropriately named historian of the Catholic church Professor Liam Temple, we’ve never known this much about the pontiff before. We learn that young Francis was an avid football and basketball fan, for example. But also, that he’s now a deeply remorseful man, often impatient and periodically anti-social.

Read more:
Pope Francis autobiography: we’ve never known so much about the pontiff before

The book had us wondering. Would you rather learn about historic figures through their own words, or the art of others? Answer our poll to let us know and reply to this email with your favourite memoir of all time. My colleague Naomi’s is Just Kids by Patti Smith.

A brutal backlash

The Brutalist swept the Oscars shortlist yesterday with ten nominations including best picture, director and actor in a leading role. We asked a real architect to review the film.

Read more:
The Brutalist: an architect’s take on a film about one man’s journey to realise his visionary building

The trailer for The Brutalist.

Adrian Brody plays Hungarian-Jewish architect László Tóth. He’s arrived in Philadelphia after surviving the Holocaust and is taken under the patronage of wealthy industrialist, Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce). It’s a monumental work about the foundations, both literal and ideological, of post-war America. Three-and-a-half hours long (with a welcome intermission) it is staggering in its scale and ambition – a film that really must be seen in the cinema.

For fans, the Academy’s support is a relief. For the past week, nominations were in doubt due to a growing backlash around the film’s use of AI to enhance the authenticity of the actors’ Hungarian accents. The language’s hard-to-imitate vowel sounds proved tricky even for Brody, whose mother was a Hungarian refugee. For Dr Dominic Lees, who has been researching the use of AI in filmmaking for six years, this creative decision is hardly shocking, especially in comparison to other recent uses of the technology – we’re looking at you, Here.

Read more:
AI voice technology used in The Brutalist is nothing new – the backlash is about transparency

The trailer for Kyoto.

With a climate-change denier back in the White House, the London opening of Kyoto at the West End’s Soho Place could hardly be timelier. The Royal Shakespeare Company production dramatises the intense negotiations of the world’s first climate change treaty. In doing so, it “turns diplomacy into a contact sport”, eliciting gales of laughter from the audience and raising plentiful questions to ponder on the way home.

Kyoto is playing at London’s Soho Place theatre until May 3.

Through the lens

We caused some controversy last week with our rundown of six covers of Bob Dylan songs that were better than the originals. “What no Guns N’ Roses, Knocking on Heaven’s Door?” asked one reader. “I’ll give you Hendrix, but all the others are ersatz compared to Bob’s versions,” proclaimed another.

The trailer for A Complete Unknown.

Hopefully one thing Dylan fans can agree on is the strength of Timothee Chalamet’s Oscar-nominated performance in the new biopic, A Complete Unknown. To our reviewer’s mind, he brings charm, vulnerability and authenticity to what will surely become one of the stand-out roles of his career.

Read more:
A Complete Unknown: Chalamet’s brilliant performance captures the elusive essence of a young Dylan

You might expect an exhibition of mafia photos to depict conflict, violence, men in suits and victims in pieces. But a new show of Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia at London’s Photographers’ Gallery instead presents images of lovers, flowers and children in the street.

Born in 1935, Battaglia was one of the first women reporters in Italy. This is the first major UK exhibition of her work since her death in 2022. Through her lens, she frequently captured the ambiguous reality of the mafia in Sicily. The revolution of her work was the way it stripped the mafia of its glamour, by showing not only its violence, the murders, the desperation, but also the banality and the normalisation of their crimes.

Letizia Battaglia: Life, Love and Death in Sicily is on at The Photographers’ Gallery, London, until February 23.

– ref. The pope’s memoir, Oscar nominees and a mafia exhibition – what to read, see and do this week – https://theconversation.com/the-popes-memoir-oscar-nominees-and-a-mafia-exhibition-what-to-read-see-and-do-this-week-248184

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The Holocaust poets who can help us to understand genocides past and present

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jean Boase-Beier, Emeritus Professor, School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, University of East Anglia

On Holocaust Memorial Day we remember the victims of the Nazi Holocaust in 1940s Europe and all those affected by later genocides.

I believe that reading poetry is an important way to commemorate these victims because it is such a personal form.

The events of the Holocaust are familiar to many people as dates and numbers. The first concentration camp opened in Dachau in 1933. In 1942 the infamous meeting at the Wannsee took place in Berlin to decide upon the “final solution” to the perceived problem of Jewish people in Germany and beyond.

Some 6 million Jewish people were murdered, some 200,000 disabled and ill people were killed in Germany alone and 400,000 people were forcibly sterilised because they possessed traits the Nazis deemed undesirable.

Such statistics are well documented by Holocaust historians. But behind these numbers, overwhelming in their sheer vastness, are individuals, those whose voices we hear especially clearly in poems.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

People wrote poetry as realisation grew of their likely fate even before the murderous events that later came to be called the Holocaust. Many wrote poetry about the Holocaust later, because they survived and wanted the world to hear their stories, or because they lost family members and wanted to remember them.

Among those who wrote after the Holocaust was German poet Volker von Törne, who was wracked with vicarious guilt for his father’s Nazi past.

But it is the poems written as the events of the Holocaust were unfolding that strike a particular chord. These are poems by prisoners facing execution, by Jewish members of society forced to live in overcrowded ghettos, by those in camps and those about to be transported to camps. Often such poems were written on odd scraps of paper, carefully hidden or buried in the ground, or smuggled out of prison, ghetto or camp.

These writers, desperate to tell their stories, chose poetry because of its immediacy, its conciseness, its emotional impact and its ability to say what cannot easily be said in prose.

Almost none of them wrote in English, so English speakers read them via translators who can speak their words for them, fashioning new versions that aim to capture the style of the originals with all its resonances and as much of their immediacy and impact as possible.

Poets of the Holocaust

Some Holocaust poets became famous, and their work has been translated many times. One of the best known, Paul Celan, was a Romanian-German poet. His parents died in the Holocaust. He died by suicide in 1970, having written some of the most memorable poems about the Holocaust, including Death-Fugue (1948), which described the repetitive and deadly rhythm of camp life and death.

German poet Nelly Sachs, who escaped at the last minute to Sweden, won the Nobel prize in 1966. Her work is readily available in a number of excellent recent translations.

Other famous poets of the Holocaust include Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever, Italian essayist Primo Levi and Hungarian poet Miklós Radnóti.

But the stories told by these famous poets, important though they are, can only give a partial picture. Often the fine details of everyday experience, the fears and hopes of individual women, men and children, have a particular resonance in the work of lesser-known poets.

Romanian-German poet Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger was only 17 when she wrote her poetry of fearful anticipation. She was transported to a concentration camp where she died a year later.

Lithuanian poet Matilda Olkinaitė was murdered at 19. How would their poetry have developed had they lived? We will never know. But what they have left us, recreated through their translators, is a highly sensitive view of life in the chaos of approaching catastrophe.

Voices in anthologies

For readers who want a fuller picture of Holocaust poetry, anthologies are invaluable. They usually have an introduction, or notes, providing the context that is so crucial to understanding the poems.

Two older anthologies, Holocaust Poetry by Hilda Schiff (1995) and Beyond Lament by Marguerite Striar (1998) are still very useful.

More recently, I co-edited the anthology Poetry of the Holocaust (2019), which arose from a research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Our aim was to collect less well-known Holocaust poetry, and, with the help of 35 translators from languages as varied as Yiddish, Norwegian, Japanese and Hungarian, to present the poems in original and translation, with a contextual note for each.

We tried to include a broader range of poems than earlier anthologies have tended to do. The anonymous Song of the Roma, for example, laments the fate of the more than 200,000 Gypsy, Roma and Traveller victims of the Nazis.

Many poems in the anthology document very specific events, such as French writer Andrė Sarcq’s To the Twice-Murdered Men, which depicts the dreadful detail of his lover’s death at the hands of the Nazis, who treated gay men with unfathomable barbarity.

Polish Resistance member Irena Bobowska suffered the cruel removal of the wheelchair upon which she depended. She imagined the world she has lost in So I Learn Life’s Greatest Art.

German poet Alfred Schmidt-Sas wrote with extreme difficulty, as his hands were bound. He reflected on his imminent beheading in Strange Lightness of Life. And in My God, French poet Catherine Roux told of the horrifying and mundane details of her arrival in a concentration camp: “I’ve no hair / I’ve no hanky.”

It is only by listening to these individual voices that we can really begin to understand what the many millions of Holocaust victims went through, and what victims of genocides all over the world have suffered and are suffering at this moment. Poetry helps us to do this.

Jean Boase-Beier acts as Translations Editor for Arc Publications. She has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for research relevant to this article.

– ref. The Holocaust poets who can help us to understand genocides past and present – https://theconversation.com/the-holocaust-poets-who-can-help-us-to-understand-genocides-past-and-present-248205

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: 01/24/25: President Trump Delivers Remarks Upon Departure

Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)

The White House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXSP0eqXfzs

MIL OSI Video –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Yorkshire company fined for polluting river with bleach
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

A Huddersfield company has been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling almost £9,000 after it polluted a river with bleach and killed hundreds of fish.
Specialist packing company Liquipak Ltd, based at Queens Mill Business Centre at Queens Mill Road, appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 9 January 2025, where it pleaded guilty to an illegal discharge of bleach.

The court heard that in September 2021 the bleach – sodium hypochlorite – escaped after a wooden pallet collapsed. The spilt bleach was flushed into surface water drains which discharge into the River Holme where it meets the River Colne in Huddersfield.

Over 800 dead fish were counted 3kms downstream in the River Colne, as well as dead aquatic invertebrates, such as insects that live in water.

In mitigation the court heard the company was deeply remorseful and that it was an unfortunate accident. The court also heard the company had introduced new handling procedures for its containers and had obtained a drainage plan.

The company was ordered to pay a fine of £2,666.67 after being given credit for an early guilty plea in addition to a victim’s surcharge and prosecution costs bringing the total amount to £8,973.67.

Thorough investigation after reports of pollution

Environment Agency Environment Officer Peter Kirton said:

Companies have a responsibility to ensure their activities do not have serious environmental impacts.

It’s important they understand their site drainage and the difference between surface and foul drains.

We carried out a thorough investigation into this pollution incident and the company has since taken steps to ensure there is no recurrence in future.

The court heard the liquid was stored in containers – those containing liquids are stored inside the warehouse and empty containers outside.

In September 2021 the Environment Agency received a report of dead fish in the River Colne. Officers attended and their investigation traced the source to Liquipak.

The company explained there had been a spillage of bleach inside the warehouse, which happened when a wooden pallet the containers were stacked on gave way, resulting in some of them toppling and spilling.

The contents went down a manhole cover in the warehouse. It hadn’t been reported to the Environment Agency because the company thought the manhole led to the foul sewer.

An Environment Agency officer used green dye to trace the discharge from the manhole, confirming it was a surface water drain that led to the river.

While the court agreed the incident was negligent, it accepted there were mitigating circumstances including that the company co-operated fully with the investigation, carried out a clean-up and has since taken steps around storage and operation to prevent it happening again in the future. The court accepted the offence was not commercially motivated.

Pollution incidents can be reported to the Environment Agency on its 24-hour incident hotline, 0800 807060.

Background

Full charge

On 2 September 2021 Liquipak Ltd caused a water discharge activity, namely the discharge of Sodium Hypochlorite into inland freshwaters, namely the River Holme at its confluence with the River Colne, otherwise than in accordance with an environmental permit.

Contrary to Regulations 12(1)(b) and 38(1)(a) Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016.

Share this page

The following links open in a new tab

Share on Facebook (opens in new tab)

Share on Twitter (opens in new tab)

Updates to this page

Published 24 January 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: The 2025 Call for nominations UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes is open
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

From Borneo to Tikal, from Longyearbyen to Puerto Toro, UNESCO is calling on communities around the world to celebrate and protect some of the planet’s most stunning cultural landscapes. Nominations are now open for the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes.

This prestigious award honours the deep connections communities have forged with their environments and encourages further efforts in the knowledge, practice, and research necessary to protect these landscapes. The Prize includes a US$30,000 endowment and emphasizes the crucial role of cultural landscape preservation in safeguarding our shared heritage while inspiring future action.

Established in 1995 in tribute to the iconic Greek actress and former Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri, the Prize has recognised outstanding conservation efforts for over two decades, promoting the sustainable management of cultural landscapes in alignment with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Who Should Apply?

Whether you represent a community, an institution, or NGO focused on the safeguarding and enhancement cultural landscapes, this is your opportunity to gain international recognition. Cultural landscapes are powerful symbols of the connection between people and nature, offering living narratives of human history and creativity.

Key Details
- Nominations must be submitted by governments, National Commissions for UNESCO, or professional organizations.
- Nominated cultural landscapes do not need to be inscribed on the World Heritage List to be eligible.
- Sites under review for possible inscription on the World Heritage List in 2025 are not eligible.
How to Apply

Submit your application online by 30 April 2025 (midnight CET, UTC+1). For full details and to apply, visit the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes website.

Do not miss this opportunity to showcase the importance of cultural landscapes for sustainable development and ensure that your work receives the recognition it deserves.

Apply

The nomination process takes place online only on the UNESCO website. Online nominations must be submitted in English or French no later than 30 April 2025 (midnight CET, UTC+1).

English French

Introduction leaflet of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

English French

For further information visit: UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

Questions can be directed to the Secretariat of the Prize at: melinamercouriprize@unesco.org

MIL OSI United Nations News –
January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Relief Still Available to Indiana Small Businesses and Nonprofits Hit by May Storms: Don’t Miss the Deadline to Apply for an SBA Disaster Loan!

Source: United States Small Business Administration

ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Indiana of the Feb. 24 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the severe storms and tornadoes that occurred May 7, 2024.

The disaster declaration covers the counties of Dearborn, Decatur, Fayette, Franklin, Ripley, Rush, and Union in Indiana, as well as Butler and Hamilton counties in Ohio.

Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs that suffered financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises. 

EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. 

“When disasters strike, businesses and nonprofits face significant challenges,” said Randle Logan, acting associate administrator for the SBA’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience. “These SBA loans provide the financial support they need to manage costs and continue moving forward.” 

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amount terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. 

SBA’s disaster loan program has been replenished through the American Relief Act of 2025, signed into law by President Biden on December 21, 2024. 

For more information and to apply online visit SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 6592955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. 

The deadline to return economic injury applications is Feb. 24, 2025.

###

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit http://www.sba.gov.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Disaster Recovery Center Opens in Newberry County

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency 2

strong>COLUMBIA, S.C. – A Disaster Recovery Center has opened in Newberry County to provide in-person assistance to South Carolinians affected by Hurricane Helene.
Newberry County
Newberry Armory275 General Henderson RoadNewberry, SC 29108
Open Jan. 24, Jan. 27-29, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., closed Jan. 25-26.
FEMA is encouraging South Carolinians affected by Hurricane Helene to apply for federal disaster assistance as soon as possible. The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is Jan. 28.
Click here to find centers that are already open in South Carolina. To find all other center locations, including those in other states, go to fema.gov/drc or text “DRC” and a Zip Code to 43362.
You can visit any open center to meet with representatives of FEMA, the state of South Carolina and the U.S. Small Business Administration. No appointment is needed.
Homeowners and renters in Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union and York counties and the Catawba Indian Nation can apply for federal assistance.
The quickest way to apply is to go online to DisasterAssistance.gov. You can also apply using the FEMA App for mobile devices or by calling toll-free 800-621-3362. The telephone line is open every day and help is available in many languages. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service. For a video with American Sign Language, voiceover and open captions about how to apply for FEMA assistance, select this link.
FEMA programs are accessible to survivors with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Six people charged with the murder of a man in Haringey
Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A further two men have been charged with the murder of a man in Haringey, following an investigation by homicide detectives. This takes the total charged to six people.

Gregory Castillo Volquez, aged 36, was stabbed at an address on Tiverton Road, Haringey on Monday, 13 January.

Gabriel Francisco Pineda Gonzalez, aged 20 (17.04.2004) of High Trees, SW2 appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 17 January.

Benito Ramirez Kones, aged 19 (27.06.2005) of Fermain Court East, N1 appeared at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 23 January. Both were charged with murder.

The above comes after three men and a woman were charged on Wednesday, 15 January.
- Carlos Alfredo Ramirez Tavarez, aged 27 (24.08.1996) of Tiverton Road, N15
- Edison Dario Canario Perez, aged 22 (6.6.2001) of Tiverton Road, N15
- Joan Perea, aged 20 (07.10.2004) of Tiverton Road, N15
- Naiara Lizeth Hernandez-Bonilla, aged 20 (2.6.2004) of Birnam Road, N4
They have been remanded in custody. A trial is due to begin on Monday, 20 October at the Old Bailey.

MIL Security OSI –
January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Corporation and Former Chief Executive Officer Plead Guilty to Health Care Fraud and Tax Conspiracy

Source: United States Attorneys General 9

The Justice Department announced today that KBWB Operations LLC, which did business as Atrium Health and Senior Living (KBWB-Atrium), and former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Member Kevin Breslin of KBWB-Atrium, both pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud and one count of tax conspiracy related to the operation of numerous skilled nursing facilities.

“Americans rely on skilled nursing facilities to care for themselves, family members and other loved ones, and the operators of these institutions must live up to their obligations and the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners to help ensure the safety and dignity of our must vulnerable citizens.”

Breslin, 58, of Hoboken, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on Dec. 17, 2024. KBWB-Atrium pleaded guilty in the same court on Jan. 21. Breslin is one of six owners of KBWB-Atrium. KBWB-Atrium’s corporate headquarters was located in Little Falls, New Jersey, and its Midwest corporate office was located in Appleton, Wisconsin. KBWB-Atrium operated and owned nursing facilities in New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

On Feb. 1, 2023, a Wisconsin grand jury returned a 12-count indictment against defendants Breslin and KBWB-Atrium (collectively the defendants) charging health care fraud and tax conspiracy, among other charges. According to court documents, from approximately Jan. 1, 2015, to in or about September 2018, KBWB-Atrium operated and owned 23 skilled nursing facilities in Wisconsin, and Breslin was responsible for overseeing all of KBWB-Atrium’s operations. The primary source of income for the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities was federal Medicare and Medicaid funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

According to court documents, the defendants’ alleged health care fraud scheme involved unlawfully diverting CMS funds intended for the operation, management, maintenance, and care of the residents of the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities for other purposes and personal expenses. The defendants allegedly prioritized distributions and guaranteed payments to KBWB-Atrium’s owners regardless of KBWB-Atrium’s financial situation. The defendants’ alleged actions resulted in failing to meet the required federal regulations governing skilled nursing facilities, including not operating the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities in a manner that would enhance residents’ quality of life. According to court documents, the defendants also knew that vendors were not being paid for extended periods of time or some were not paid at all for their services. Additionally, defendants allegedly failed to pay third-party administrators monies deducted from KBWB-Atrium employees’ paychecks for insurance premiums and 401(k) plan contributions.

As a part of the tax conspiracy alleged in court documents, Breslin, acting on behalf of KBWB-Atrium, directed that income taxes and employment taxes withheld from KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin employees’ paychecks not be paid over to the IRS. This caused employees to prepare tax returns listing those withholdings as having been paid to the IRS, which was false.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on May 7 before U.S. District Judge William M. Conleyfor the Western District of Wisconsin. Breslin faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison for the health care fraud count and five years in prison for the conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States count, along with a period of supervised release. Both defendants face restitution and other monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence of each defendant after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“Healthcare fraud affects every American,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea for the Western District of Wisconsin. “My office was proud to partner with the Justice Department’s Civil Division to help prosecute these individuals who harmed seniors and exploited our health care benefits programs for personal gain.”

“This guilty plea demonstrates our unwavering commitment to holding individuals accountable who exploit vulnerable populations and defraud the healthcare system for personal gain,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “Breslin’s actions not only eroded public trust but endangered the well-being of patients who rely on our health care system. The FBI will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to investigate and bring to justice those who abuse positions of trust.”

“The guilty pleas of Kevin Breslin and KBWB Operations LLC serve as a reminder that healthcare fraud is not only a direct violation of patient care, but also an attack on the financial systems that underpin public and private trust,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chicago Field Office. “IRS-CI and its law enforcement partners remain dedicated to investigating and prosecuting individuals and businesses who seek to exploit public and private institutions for personal gain.”

“HHS-OIG is dedicated to protecting Medicare and Medicaid funds and ensuring that health care providers uphold their responsibility to serve vulnerable populations with integrity,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “The actions of those involved in this scheme erode the trust placed in our nation’s health care system, and we will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who misuse public funds for personal gain.”

“Employers placing profit over upholding their legal fiduciary responsibilities when managing health benefit plans will not be tolerated,” said Regional Director Ruben R. Chapa of the Employee Benefits Security Administration in Chicago. “The Employee Benefits Security Administration remains committed to ensuring that those who knowingly break the law are held fully accountable.”

The IRS-CI Chicago Field Office; HHS-OIG – Office of Investigations, Milwaukee Field Office; U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, New York and Chicago Regional Offices; FBI Milwaukee Field Office; and the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys with the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwi.

MIL Security OSI –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: King, Colleagues Seek to Honor All-Female WWII Six Triple Eight Battalion

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in urging Congressional Leadership to honor female WWII veterans. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Senators request he hold a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony commemorating the Six Triple Eight battalion, the only all-black, all-female battalion to serve overseas during World War II. The Six Triple Eight were responsible for clearing out an overwhelming backlog of mail, making certain American troops received letters from home to boost their morale.
Former President Joe Biden signed the Congressional Gold Medals into law in 2022. Today, only two members of the battalion are still alive and deserve to receive this long-awaited recognition in a timely manner.
“We write today to request a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony commemorating the Women’s Army Corps unit, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. This battalion, commonly known as the Six Triple Eight, was composed of courageous women who played a crucial role in America’s pivotal victory in the European Theatre during World War II,” the Senators wrote.
“We first recognized these women in 2018 when the Senate passed a resolution to honor the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. In 2020, the Senate successfully passed the “Six Triple Eight” Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 to award the Congressional Gold Medal to members of this battalion. Finally, in 2022, the Six Triple Eight legislation was signed into law,” the Senators continued.
The Senators concluded, “However, we are nearing a critical juncture. Today, only two members of the Six Triple Eight are known to be alive. Those still surviving ought to not wait any longer to receive this long-awaited recognition they rightfully deserve. The design and production of the Six Triple Eight Congressional Gold Medal is complete. Therefore, we ask that you swiftly schedule a ceremony to recognize the service these women gave to our nation.”
On the letter, King was joined by Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), James Risch (R-ID), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
Representing one of the states with the highest rates of veterans per capita, Senator King is a staunch advocate for America’s servicemembers and veterans. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, he has worked to ensure that veterans have access to jobs and training after separating from military service. In 2024, Congress passed Senator King’s bipartisan legislation to improve veterans’ access to health care and benefits.
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
+++
Dear Mr. Speaker,
We write today to request a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony commemorating the Women’s Army Corps unit, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. This battalion, commonly known as the Six Triple Eight, was composed of courageous women who played a crucial role in America’s pivotal victory in the European Theatre during World War II.
The Six Triple Eight was the only all-Black, all-female unit of the United States Army serving overseas during World War II. Their momentous task was to clear out a three-year, 17-millionpiece backlog of mail sent to American servicemembers on the battlefield. Their motto, “no mail, low morale,” encouraged them as they faced these insurmountable odds.
We first recognized these women in 2018 when the Senate passed a resolution to honor the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. In 2020, the Senate successfully passed the “Six Triple Eight” Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 to award the Congressional Gold Medal to members of this battalion. Finally, in 2022, the Six Triple Eight legislation was signed into law.
Since passing this legislation, numerous historical articles have been written, and a film was produced in commemoration of the tireless work accomplished by more than 850 women. The role these women played in boosting the morale of young servicemembers during World War II is cemented in our nation’s history.
However, we are nearing a critical juncture. Today, only two members of the Six Triple Eight are known to be alive. Those still surviving ought to not wait any longer to receive this long-awaited recognition they rightfully deserve. The design and production of the Six Triple Eight Congressional Gold Medal is complete. Therefore, we ask that you swiftly schedule a ceremony to recognize the service these women gave to our nation.
We appreciate the work you do in ensuring the recognition of deserving Americans with the highest distinction Congress can bestow, and we look forward to working with you in making this ceremony a reality.
Sincerely,

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville, Sheehy, Hagerty Introduce No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senators Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) in introducing the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act to keep American taxpayer dollars out of the hands of the Taliban. The legislation clarifies that it is the United States’ policy to oppose financial or material support to the Taliban by foreign governments and non-government organizations (NGOs). It also requires the State Department to develop and implement astrategy to prevent foreign countries from providing support to the Taliban.
“Under Joe Biden, terrorists around the globe have been given way too much breathing room, making our world a more dangerous place,” said Senator Tuberville. “I’m excited to see a return to the ‘Peace through Strength’ agenda under President Trump, and proud to join this commonsense legislation to ensure American taxpayer dollars never fund terrorism again.”
Since 2021, the United Nations has flown more than $2.9 billion in cash to Afghanistan to stabilize the economy. The State Department has insisted that no U.S. taxpayer funds have been received by the Taliban, but a report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) showed that United States taxpayer dollars have indeed been deposited in the Taliban-controlled Afghan central bank.
After Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan returned the Taliban to power, his administration further insulted the countless men and women in uniform who fought in the region by funneling U.S. taxpayer dollars to these anti-American terrorists.
Read the bill here.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Urges Senate to Confirm Hegseth and Rollins, Secure American Farmland with the FARM Act

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke on the Senate floor in support of Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Defense, who will bring much-needed change to the Department of Defense.
Additionally, Sen. Tuberville addressed legislation he reintroduced on Wednesday, the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act. The FARM Act will help secure America’s agricultural industry and food supply chains from foreign adversaries by creating a permanent seat for the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Additionally, Sen. Tuberville encouraged the Senate to move quickly on confirming President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who will fight for America’s farming communities and defend against foreign influence in the U.S. agricultural sector.
Read Sen. Tuberville’s remarks below or watch on YouTube or Rumble.

ON CONFIRMING PETE HEGSETH
“Thank you, Mr. President,
I want to reiterate what my colleague from Tennessee just talked about, the importance of the vote that we just took. Just a few minutes ago our nominee for new Secretary Defense, Pete Hegseth.
Now the procedure is, as we just voted, to close the vote and now, we wait 30 hours from just a few minutes ago and have the final vote on his nomination, which it looks like that he has the votes of a majority to be appointed, or sent to the White House, to be confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense.
I’m on the Armed Services Committee, and I’ve watched four years of the destruction of the best military in our world, United States of America. It is a shame what has happened, the DEI, the woke agenda that’s being pushed on the troops in our country, to me, is embarrassing.
I’m a military brat. My dad died on active duty in the military. Awarded five bronze stars and a Purple Heart at age 17 driving a tank across Europe after landing the first day at Normandy. We have to change course in our military, and we can talk about inflation and pumping gas and the crime and all the things that we’re having a lot of problems with, but if you don’t have a strong military to protect our borders and protect the citizens in our country from adversaries all over the world, we got problems. And it’s got to start there.
Pete Hegseth is the choice, the right choice. I like his age, I like his demeanor, I like the things he brings to our military. He’s exciting and he will energize this military into the next decade. And I’m excited about that.
So, hopefully in about 30 hours we’ll vote tomorrow night around 9:00 and we’ll vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as our new Secretary of Defense.
ON THE FARM ACT
Now, I’d like to turn to national security threats in our Nation’s agriculture sector and food supply chains.
I’m on the Ag Committee. Over the past few years, the United States has experienced a rapid increase in foreign investment in agricultural sector, particularly from China. We have to open our eyes. Bad things are happening around us. Growing foreign investment in agriculture and other essential industries like health care and energy is a direct threat to our country’s national security.
You know for years now I’ve been sounding the alarm about foreign ownership of American farmland and other elements of our food chain. According to USDA data from December 2023, foreign investors own approximately 45 million acres of U.S. agriculture land. Now let me say that again: 45 million acres of our forest and agriculture land in this country has been sold to foreign entities. Does that not scare us? What [did] we just see during COVID about our drug supply? We looked around, we looked for health care and help after COVID hit our hit our borders and what happened? We found out that it was all being made in China.
So, 45 million acres, this represents over 1.5 million acres in one calendar year. Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land in increased modestly from 2012 to [20]17 an average increase of 0.6 million acres per year, that’s 2012 to 2017. But since 2017, the number has skyrocketed to an average of 2.6 million acres a year that we’re selling, our farmland, to our adversaries. And it’s just not China. It’s Russia it’s other entities that don’t wish us well at the end of the day. So additionally, between 2010 and [20]21, entities or individuals from China increased their ownership of U.S. agriculture land more than twenty-fold from about 14,000 acres to 400,000 Acres. This is an unbelievable and unsustainable pace for the United States of America.
Now, Alabama is experiencing, my state, this firsthand. We have the fourth largest amount of foreign owned agricultural land in the United States at 2.2 million acres, most of which is forest land. It’s not really agriculture in terms of growing row crops, it’s basically our forest. You know, I represent over 62,000 farmers in the state of Alabama. I hear from them time and time again about foreign activity in our agriculture community. Threats like these are something our states can’t handle all on their own.
Which is why President Ford established, President Ford, established a Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, also known in short terms, CFIUS. This was in 1975. In other words, this committee is supposed to keep an eye on foreign investments in our country. This is the governmental body that oversees the vetting process of foreign investments and acquisitions of American companies in the interest of national security. CFIUS is composed of nine members of President’s cabinet including the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, and Energy. The Attorney General, the US Trade Representative, and the Director of Office of Science and Technology Policy also sit on this vetting board of industry and land in our country.
Nowhere on that list did you hear me say the Secretary of Agriculture. Now why is that? […] Considering the massive increase in foreign investment in our country, we need additional oversight for what’s going on in our country. We got our eyes closed. Which is why yesterday I introduced the Foreign Adversary Risk Management Act, called the FARM Act, here on the floor that will accomplish three major things.
First, it would add the Secretary of Agriculture as a permanent member of CFIUS. In other words, that somebody that’s going to help our agriculture people vet land that’s being bought by foreign entities. Second, it would protect U.S. agriculture industry from foreign control through transactions, mergers, and acquisitions, and agreements, and it would also designate agriculture supply chains as critical infrastructure and critical technology. Third, it would require a report to Congress on current and potential foreign investments in the U.S. agriculture industry. This legislation, folks, is long overdue.
These foreign investments now reach into every aspect of agriculture industry and supply chains from farming and processing, to packaging and shipping. We cannot, and I repeat, we cannot allow our adversaries to have a foot in the door to our critical supply chains. Food security is national security. We must prioritize increased oversight of foreign investment, and our food supply chains especially those coming from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
This starts with giving the agriculture community a permanent seat at the table of CFIUS. The FARM Act does just that.
ON CONFIRMING BROOKE ROLLINS
And there’s no better person to fill this permanent seat on CFIUS than my good friend, who we had a hearing today, as a new nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins. I’ve known Brooke for 30 years. I met her while I was coaching at Texas A&M. She was the student body president in 1994. The students saw then what President Trump, what they see in her today, her strong leadership and her conviction of agriculture. It will be no different when she becomes the Secretary of Agriculture for the United States of America.
Brooke was brought up in a small agricultural community of Glen Rose, Texas. She comes from several generations of American farmers. She participated in levels of 4-H and FFA. She raised livestock throughout her life. Now she is [a] mother, she’s involved in the show steer industry with her four children. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural development from A&M and later earned a law degree at the University of Texas.
Later at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, she was engaged with rural and agriculture communities throughout Texas. She led litigation efforts that focused on the defense of Texas landowners and farmers against federal interference and regulations. Next, Brooke went on to serve in several roles in President Trump’s White House. She served as the Director of Domestic Policy Council, Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives, and Director of The Office of American Innovation. In these roles, she helped roll back terrible EPA rules like Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS, that targeted farmers and ranchers.
After the White House, she joined the American First Policy Institute, where she focused on protecting U.S. farmland and foreign entities seeking to gain control, especially from the Chinese. At AFPI, she strove to improve American food security, independence, as well as support measures that defend U.S. agriculture trade. Brooke understands these many challenges.
In short, Brooke is a conservative warrior and will be an excellent Ag Secretary. I look forward to working with her to secure our farmland from foreign entities and working with her on passing a Farm Bill that puts American producers first again.
As Alabama’s voiced on the Senate Ag Committee, I will continue fighting to secure our agriculture supply chain so our agriculture community can continue to put food on the table. And that starts with someone like Brooke Rollins as our Secretary of Agriculture. She is a terrific nominee, and I look forward to working with her on the Committee.
I expect to move, her to move easily through the Committee vote, and here on this floor. So, once she’s out of Committee, the Senate must vote on her for confirmation. She’ll do great. She’s perfect for the job and I ask that the Senate take up both efforts quickly to defend our agriculture communities which feeds not only the American people but the entire world.
I yield the floor.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: The Global Economic Outlook | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

Nearly five years since the COVID-19 pandemic upended the global economy, growth is slow but stable, inflation has gradually declined in advanced economies and trade trends have turned positive. Despite this, there remain challenges such as high public debt burdens, ongoing geo-economic tensions and the potential impact of industrial policies on smaller countries.

Given this landscape, what are the plausible scenarios for the global economy in 2025?

Speakers: Faisal Alibrahim, Kristalina Georgieva, Laurence D. Fink, Sara Eisen, Christine Lagarde, Tharman Shanmugaratnam

The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will provide a crucial space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability.

This Annual Meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organizations, 1000 Forum’s Partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets.

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/
YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/wef
Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/worldeconomicforum/
X ► https://twitter.com/wef
LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-economic-forum
TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@worldeconomicforum
Flipboard ► https://flipboard.com/@WEF

#Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7rBsMrx094

MIL OSI Video –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Avian Influenza Prevention Zone
Source: Scottish Government

Zone declared in Scotland and England.

Following an increase in the number of detections of avian influenza (bird flu) in wild birds and other captive birds, the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer from Scotland and Chief Veterinary Officer from England have declared a national Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading amongst poultry and other captive birds.

This means that from 12:00 noon on Saturday 25 January, it will be a legal requirement for all bird keepers in Scotland and England to follow strict biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks from the threat of avian flu.

Surveillance has indicated that the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus is currently circulating in wild birds in the UK and their risk to poultry and other captive birds is currently assessed as being very high. Maintaining strict biosecurity is the most effective method of protecting birds from the virus.

Keepers with more than 500 birds will need to restrict access for non-essential people on their sites, workers will need to change clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures and site vehicles will need to be cleansed and disinfected regularly to limit the risk of the disease spreading. Backyard owners with smaller numbers of poultry including chickens, ducks and geese must also take steps to limit the risk of the disease spreading to their animals.

Public Health Scotland advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and Food Standards Scotland advises that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

Scotland’s Deputy Chief Vet Officer Jesus Gallego said;

“While the risk to public health is very low, we are currently experiencing a heightened risk of an incursion from this virus and so it is vital that appropriate precautions are taken to protect poultry and other captive birds from infection. The introduction of this zone is a preventative measure, aimed at minimising the effect that this, often devastating virus, can have on Scottish kept birds”.

Background

Avian influenza (bird flu) outbreaks – gov.scot

Avian influenza (bird flu): how to spot and report the disease – gov.scot

Wild bird surveillance – Avian influenza (bird flu): how to spot and report the disease – gov.scot

The AIPZ means bird keepers across Scotland and England must:
- Keep free ranging birds within fenced areas, and ponds, watercourses and permanent standing water must be fenced off (except in specific circumstances, e.g. zoo birds)
- Cleanse and disinfect footwear and keep areas where birds live clean and tidy;
- Minimise movement in and out of bird enclosures;
- Reduce any existing contamination by cleansing and disinfecting concrete areas, and fencing off wet or boggy areas
- Keep domestic ducks and geese separate from other poultr
- Ensure the areas where birds are kept are unattractive to wild birds, for example by netting ponds, and by removing wild bird food sources;
- Feed and water your birds in enclosed areas to discourage wild birds;
Keepers should familiarise themselves with our avian flu advice at http://www.gov.scot/avianinfluenza and report suspicion of disease to your local APHA Field Services Office.

The Avian Influenza Prevention Zone will be in place until further notice and will be kept under regular review as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of bird flu.

Do not touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds that you find. Wild birds can carry several diseases that are infectious to people. In Great Britain, if you find at the same time:
- a single dead bird of prey, swan, goose, duck or gull or
- five or more dead wild birds of any other species
you should report them on gov.uk’s report dead wild birds page.
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Heritage Action funding sees new town maps installed around Newport 24 January 2025 Newport and Carisrbrooke Community Council have installed five new town maps

Source: Aisle of Wight

Heritage Action Zone funding from Historic England has given Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council’s Shaping Newport project the opportunity to install additional maps of Newport around the town at various entry points. The funding was used to install five more maps last week, following on from the first map installation which was funded by the Isle of Wight Chamber and installed in 2019.

There are now six town maps, located at Lord Lois Library, Newport Bus Station, Chapel St Carpark, Post Office Lane and Quay Street. The map was created seven years ago by Alan Rowe and took six months to design. It highlights key locations in the town, like notable buildings including Newport Minster and the Guildhall, al fresco dining spots and independent shops and was produced by local business A.J Wells.

There is an audio overview available, developed by local charity Sight for Wight, and an online version is hosted on the Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council’s website: https://www.newportwight.org.uk/newport-town-map. These are accessed via a QR code printed on the maps.

Another QR code will take you to the Historic Newport Walks website: http://historicalnewport.org, where you can access free historic walking trails around the town.

Councillor Julie Jones Evans, cabinet member for Economy, Regeneration, Culture and Leisure said: “Seeing this beautiful map now in 6 locations around the town, not only is useful for visitors but is also public art.”

“It’s beautifully illustrated by Alan Rowe and printed in lasting high-quality enamel by King’s Award for Enterprise recipients A.J. Wells who are based in the County Town.”

“Having the opportunity for funds from Historic England to produce 5 updated versions was something to be grabbed with both hands. Thanks also to Shaping Newport for making this happen.”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General Calls on 23 March Movement to Immediately Cease Offensive, Withdraw from All Occupied Areas in Democratic Republic of Congo

Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General is alarmed by the resumption of hostilities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. He condemns, in the strongest terms, the renewed offensive launched by the 23 March Movement (M23) since the beginning of the year and its expansion into North Kivu and South Kivu, including the recent seizure of Sake, which increases the threat to the town of Goma. This offensive has a devastating toll on the civilian population and heightened the risk of a broader regional war.

The Secretary-General calls on M23 to immediately cease its offensive, withdraw from all occupied areas and abide by the 31 July 2024 ceasefire agreement. The Secretary-General is deeply troubled by the most recent report of the Group of Experts established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1533 (2004), concerning the presence of Rwandan troops on Congolese soil and continued support to M23. He calls on all actors to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to put an end to all forms of support to armed groups, whether Congolese or foreign.

The Secretary-General reaffirms his unwavering support for the peace efforts led by President João Lourenço of Angola to de-escalate tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda and commends him for the progress made so far. He urges the parties to remain engaged in the Luanda process and maintain momentum on the neutralization of the FDLR [Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda] and withdrawal of Rwandan forces, as well as the swift operationalization of the Reinforced Ad-Hoc Verification Mechanism.

The Secretary-General urges all parties to uphold human rights and international humanitarian law, including by ensuring immediate and unfettered access to populations in need of humanitarian assistance and respecting the civilian character of internally displaced persons’ sites. He reaffirms the determination of MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] to implement its mandate to protect civilians. He strongly condemns action by any party that endangers the safety and security of UN blue helmets and civilian personnel.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Corporation and Former Chief Executive Officer Plead Guilty to Health Care Fraud and Tax Conspiracy

Source: US State of California

The Justice Department announced today that KBWB Operations LLC, which did business as Atrium Health and Senior Living (KBWB-Atrium), and former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Member Kevin Breslin of KBWB-Atrium, both pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud and one count of tax conspiracy related to the operation of numerous skilled nursing facilities.

“Americans rely on skilled nursing facilities to care for themselves, family members and other loved ones, and the operators of these institutions must live up to their obligations and the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners to help ensure the safety and dignity of our must vulnerable citizens.”

Breslin, 58, of Hoboken, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on Dec. 17, 2024. KBWB-Atrium pleaded guilty in the same court on Jan. 21. Breslin is one of six owners of KBWB-Atrium. KBWB-Atrium’s corporate headquarters was located in Little Falls, New Jersey, and its Midwest corporate office was located in Appleton, Wisconsin. KBWB-Atrium operated and owned nursing facilities in New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

On Feb. 1, 2023, a Wisconsin grand jury returned a 12-count indictment against defendants Breslin and KBWB-Atrium (collectively the defendants) charging health care fraud and tax conspiracy, among other charges. According to court documents, from approximately Jan. 1, 2015, to in or about September 2018, KBWB-Atrium operated and owned 23 skilled nursing facilities in Wisconsin, and Breslin was responsible for overseeing all of KBWB-Atrium’s operations. The primary source of income for the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities was federal Medicare and Medicaid funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

According to court documents, the defendants’ alleged health care fraud scheme involved unlawfully diverting CMS funds intended for the operation, management, maintenance, and care of the residents of the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities for other purposes and personal expenses. The defendants allegedly prioritized distributions and guaranteed payments to KBWB-Atrium’s owners regardless of KBWB-Atrium’s financial situation. The defendants’ alleged actions resulted in failing to meet the required federal regulations governing skilled nursing facilities, including not operating the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities in a manner that would enhance residents’ quality of life. According to court documents, the defendants also knew that vendors were not being paid for extended periods of time or some were not paid at all for their services. Additionally, defendants allegedly failed to pay third-party administrators monies deducted from KBWB-Atrium employees’ paychecks for insurance premiums and 401(k) plan contributions.

As a part of the tax conspiracy alleged in court documents, Breslin, acting on behalf of KBWB-Atrium, directed that income taxes and employment taxes withheld from KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin employees’ paychecks not be paid over to the IRS. This caused employees to prepare tax returns listing those withholdings as having been paid to the IRS, which was false.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on May 7 before U.S. District Judge William M. Conleyfor the Western District of Wisconsin. Breslin faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison for the health care fraud count and five years in prison for the conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States count, along with a period of supervised release. Both defendants face restitution and other monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence of each defendant after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“Healthcare fraud affects every American,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea for the Western District of Wisconsin. “My office was proud to partner with the Justice Department’s Civil Division to help prosecute these individuals who harmed seniors and exploited our health care benefits programs for personal gain.”

“This guilty plea demonstrates our unwavering commitment to holding individuals accountable who exploit vulnerable populations and defraud the healthcare system for personal gain,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “Breslin’s actions not only eroded public trust but endangered the well-being of patients who rely on our health care system. The FBI will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to investigate and bring to justice those who abuse positions of trust.”

“The guilty pleas of Kevin Breslin and KBWB Operations LLC serve as a reminder that healthcare fraud is not only a direct violation of patient care, but also an attack on the financial systems that underpin public and private trust,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chicago Field Office. “IRS-CI and its law enforcement partners remain dedicated to investigating and prosecuting individuals and businesses who seek to exploit public and private institutions for personal gain.”

“HHS-OIG is dedicated to protecting Medicare and Medicaid funds and ensuring that health care providers uphold their responsibility to serve vulnerable populations with integrity,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “The actions of those involved in this scheme erode the trust placed in our nation’s health care system, and we will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who misuse public funds for personal gain.”

“Employers placing profit over upholding their legal fiduciary responsibilities when managing health benefit plans will not be tolerated,” said Regional Director Ruben R. Chapa of the Employee Benefits Security Administration in Chicago. “The Employee Benefits Security Administration remains committed to ensuring that those who knowingly break the law are held fully accountable.”

The IRS-CI Chicago Field Office; HHS-OIG – Office of Investigations, Milwaukee Field Office; U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, New York and Chicago Regional Offices; FBI Milwaukee Field Office; and the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys with the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-wdwi.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures Guilty Pleas from Two Zuni Men in Armed Assault Case

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ALBUQUERQUE – Two men from Zuni, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon after admitting to committing an armed assault involving four victims.

According to court documents, on April 8, 2023, Kamron Kallestewa, 24, and Kaden Panteah, 20, both enrolled members of the Pueblo of Zuni, armed themselves with pistols and went to a residence within the exterior boundaries of the Zuni Pueblo, where they assaulted four individuals.

There, Kallestewa struck John Doe 1 in the face and head with a pistol, causing bruising, and then pointed the weapon at John Doe 2, placing the muzzle on the back of his head. He further escalated the violence by pointing the pistol at Jane Doe 1’s head and striking Jane Doe 2 in the face, resulting in a cut under her eye.

Panteah participated in the assault by putting the muzzle of his pistol to the back of John Doe 2’s head. Additionally, Panteah discharged a weapon in the direction of all four victims with the intent to cause bodily harm.

Kallestewa and Panteah will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. At sentencing, they each face up to 10 years in prison. Upon their release from prison, Kallestewa and Panteah will be subject to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Mia Ulibarri-Rubin and Jesse Pecoraro are prosecuting the case.

# # #

MIL Security OSI –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Forging the Future: Training Center Opens to Train Next Generation of Defense Manufacturers

Source: United States Navy

The Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, launched in 2021, has graduated more than 777 students from 45 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Australia. About 25% of participants are veterans, and the program boasts a 90% job placement rate within the defense industrial base. New cohorts begin every eight weeks, offering a fast track to meaningful careers across five trades.

The new National Training Center, a state-of-the-art, 100,000-square-foot facility on the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) campus, opened its doors on January 13. On that day, the center welcomed its first cohort of students, marking the beginning of an expanded operation that will train 1,000 students annually, creating a pipeline of skilled workers critical for building and maintaining the nation’s submarines and warships.

“This facility helps address our immediate workforce needs,” said Frederick “Jay” Stefany, the Direct Reporting Program Manager for the Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) Program. “It advances our efforts to restore our industrial base and ensure our industry partners have the skilled workforce they need to build and maintain the Navy’s fleet.”

ATDM’s graduates are essential in addressing the maritime industry’s expanding workforce needs. The Navy’s shipbuilding plans include the construction of Columbia-class and Virginia-class submarines, along with more than 10 different classes of surface ships, including aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, amphibious warships, and support vessels. This unprecedented scale of shipbuilding requires a comprehensive strategy to rebuild America’s manufacturing capabilities. The establishment of the National Training Center marks a significant milestone in this endeavor.

A National Imperative

The MIB Program leads the Navy’s workforce development initiatives while advancing shipbuilding and repair capabilities through industrial base development, supply chain resilience, and advanced manufacturing technologies. With the U.S. manufacturing base having shrunk to a third of its size from 30 years ago, the program must overcome major challenges. One of these pressing challenges involves recruiting and training 140,000 new workers over the next decade for submarine production and sustainment, with an additional 110,000 workers needed for surface vessel construction and maintenance.

“The decline in American manufacturing has created a critical skills gap,” said Erica Logan, Workforce Director for the MIB Program. “But we’re not just filling jobs—we’re rebuilding America’s maritime manufacturing capability and offering meaningful careers for the next

generation of workers. Every graduate represents another step toward restoring our nation’s industrial strength.”

This workforce development initiative is vital for both new construction and fleet maintenance, underscoring the strategic importance of programs like ATDM in maintaining America’s naval readiness. This national revitalization effort takes shape through individual success stories and community partnerships.

The IALR campus, which hosts the National Training Center, also houses another key MIB Program initiative: the Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence. This co-location creates a hub for maritime manufacturing innovation.

Transforming Lives, Strengthening Communities

Natasha Barnes, part of the inaugural class that began training January 13 in the new facility, represents a growing wave of skilled workers entering the defense manufacturing workforce.

“ATDM has done an excellent job adapting during the transition into the new facility,” said Barnes, a CNC student. “It’s been an uplifting experience to learn in such a clean and well-maintained environment. I am very excited to see what the future holds for the program.”

For Telly Tucker, president of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), the program’s impact goes beyond the classroom.

“This facility is about more than training—it’s about revitalizing southern Virginia,” Tucker said. “It’s creating jobs, fostering economic growth, and building a pipeline of skilled workers who will strengthen our nation’s security.”

To deliver on this promise of regional revitalization and support to national security, the National Training Center provides intensive, hands-on preparation.

Hands-On Training for Real-World Impact

ATDM’s intensive, 16-week accelerated training program provides students with 600 hours of hands-on experience in one of five trades critical to maritime manufacturing: welding, CNC machining, additive manufacturing, quality assurance, and non-destructive testing. Training runs on three shifts, mirroring the 24/7 operations of the defense industry.

“This program isn’t theoretical—it’s practical,” said Christa Reed, ATDM’s Interim Vice-President. “When our students graduate, they’re not just trained—they’re ready to hit the ground running.”

The curriculum, developed in collaboration with industry leaders, ensures students are equipped with the skills and certifications needed to meet the Navy’s rigorous standards. By

simulating real-world manufacturing environments, the program prepares graduates to succeed in high-demand roles. This focused training approach directly enhances America’s maritime security.

A Shared Mission

The opening of the National Training Center represents a milestone in the Navy’s efforts to address workforce challenges and bolster the maritime industrial base. For Stefany, it’s a reminder of how these efforts impact national security.

“Every ship we build, every submarine we launch, is a promise to the American people,” Stefany said. “That promise begins here, with the people we train.”

As the Navy ramps up its fleet expansion, programs like ATDM and the new National Training Center are creating a ripple effect—transforming communities, empowering individuals, and ensuring America’s maritime superiority. The center highlights innovation, collaboration, and resilience, its impact extending beyond Danville to strengthen America’s maritime future.

For more information about ATDM and its programs, visit http://www.atdm.org.

MIL Security OSI –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: Cooperation in a Divided World | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

Global cooperation has declined in recent years, with the risk of international relations stalling at a “new, non-cooperative normal”. Yet, amid the competition and confrontation, there are positive trends, particularly on joint climate action and in areas of collaborative innovation.

Join this session to explore the 2025 edition of the Global Cooperation Barometer, which identifies where global cooperation is working, where it isn’t and what leaders can do to build stronger cross-border collaboration.

Speakers: Bob Sternfels, Samir Saran

The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will provide a crucial space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability.

This Annual Meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organizations, 1000 Forum’s Partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets.

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/
YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/wef
Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/worldeconomicforum/
X ► https://twitter.com/wef
LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-economic-forum
TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@worldeconomicforum
Flipboard ► https://flipboard.com/@WEF

#Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZJxdSs01u4

MIL OSI Video –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: UK St Stephen’s Hall, 120 years later on… ⏳

Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)

St Stephen’s Hall stands on the site of the royal Chapel of St Stephen’s. This is where the House of Commons sat until the Chapel was destroyed by the fire of 1834. It is one of the main routes taken by members and visitors to Central Lobby and both chambers.

Have you walked through the Hall on a visit to Parliament?

Then A photo of St Stephen’s Hall looking into Central Lobby, 1905, ©Parliamentary Archives.

Now A smartphone video of the same view, 2025.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suNcG6jJerU

MIL OSI Video –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Mullin Shares Personal Story on the Fight for Life

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)
“It’s more than just a passion, it’s more than just legislation, it’s more than just action for us.”
Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a father of six kids—three of whom are adopted, stood beside U.S. Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Roger Marshall (R-KS), and abortion survivors in a press conference ahead of the March for Life. During the press conference, Republican Senators called out Senate Democrats for blocking the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act on the Senate floor Wednesday. Senator Mullin then shared his family’s personal story in the fight for life.

Watch the senator’s full remarks here.
On he and his wife’s attempts at starting a family:
“I was asked to share our story. My wife and I’s story on why were so pro-life. It’s more than just a passion, it’s more than just legislation, it’s more than just action for us. My wife and I, we got married when we were 19 and 18. We were high school sweethearts, elementary sweethearts, she just knew she couldn’t do any better once she got me. For seven years, we tried to have kids. Seven years into it we got pregnant for the first time and we found out on Christmas morning. So exciting, Christmas morning of 2001. It was actually what my wife gave me for Christmas was a pregnancy test. We went to the doctor several weeks later, and we heard the heartbeat for the first time. And how excited I was, and how excited I was that we started picking out names. As the pregnancy progressed there was more information coming out and we were getting very excited at this point. Unfortunately, at one of the later doctor’s appointment, the heartbeat was gone. That was a death to us. It was no longer a fetus, it wasn’t this thing, that was a death. That was a death of a child that my wife and I had been praying about, been seeking for years. The worst part is it affected me, it affected my wife even more because her body had been through the changes along the way.”
On gratitude for his family, and the ongoing fight for life:
“Fortunately for us, it was nine months later, almost exactly nine months later that we got pregnant with our first biological son. After that we went on to have three more biological kids and now today were the proud parents of six kids. As I say we have three that came natural and three we chose. So which ones do you think we love the most? The ones we got stuck with or the ones that we got to pick? We have two beautiful twin girls that are 14 years old now and we got a wonderful guy that wrestles at Oklahoma State and he’s 21. All three of them came into our lives at different stages. The girls came into our lives at two years old, Jace came into our lives much later. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think their birth mother made such a brave decision to give Christie and I, an opportunity to be loved by them.”
On the importance of adoption:
“I know people say ‘well no you’re loving them’ and people always come up to us all the time and say ‘hey, I bet you’re just such a blessing to them.’ No, they’re a blessing to us every single day. Every single day my heart grows because I have six kids. But if we’re gonna be pro-life, than we also have to be pro-adoption. Because if we want the mother to go through the process, than we have to make sure that child lands in a loving family along the way. If you think, ‘well I don’t have the resources or the capability,’ I promise you, you do. If you were concerned like I was with my wife who talked to me for months trying to get me to agree to adopt our twins, and I would say ‘babe, we’ll write a check, we’ll support them financially, that’s easy.’ And she said, ‘babe would you just pray about it?’…
“I think all of us that are pro-life have a responsibility to all the born [and unborn] children who are on the way.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Hawley, Luján Reintroduce RECA to Give Nuclear Radiation Victims Compensation

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)

Friday, January 24, 2025

Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), along with Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) reintroduced the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act to compensate Americans exposed to radiation by government nuclear programs.

Senator Hawley’s reintroduction comes as new reporting indicates the radioactive waste in St. Louis is more widespread than previously thought.

The House of Representatives failed to pass the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) reauthorization before its expiration deadline in the 118th Congress.

“The time to reauthorize RECA is now. The Senate has done this twice before and must do it again. For far too long, Missourians and others across America have suffered without compensation from their government. It is vital that we unite to pass this legislation now, and that the President sign it into law,” said Senator Hawley.

“In New Mexico and across the country, thousands sacrificed to contribute to our national security. Today, individuals affected by nuclear weapons testing, downwind radiation exposure, and uranium mining are still waiting to receive the justice they are owed,” said Senator Luján. “It is unacceptable that so many who have gotten sick from radiation exposure have been denied compensation by Congress. Despite having passed RECA legislation twice through the Senate with broad bipartisan support, and securing the support of the previous administration, I was disheartened that Speaker Johnson refused a vote on RECA to help victims. This Congress, I am proud to partner with Senator Hawley again to extend and expand RECA. RECA is a bipartisan priority and I am hopeful that we will once again get it through the Senate and hope the Speaker commits to getting victims the compensation they are owed.”

Senator Hawley has been the leading voice in the fight to secure just compensation for radiation victims in Missouri—and across the nation.

The Senate has passed Senator Hawley’s legislation to reauthorize and expand RECA twice, with strong bipartisan measure.

Click here to dive deeper into Senator Hawley’s fight to reauthorize and expand RECA.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: High-speed internet available in Lax Kw’alaams

Source: Government of Canada regional news

People living in Lax Kw’alaams off the northwestern coast of B.C. have access to reliable high-speed internet, enabling people to access online services and opportunities.

“This announcement is an essential step in our commitment to connect all First Nations communities in B.C. to high-speed internet,” said George Chow, Minister of Citizens’ Services. “Reliable connectivity will ensure people in Lax Kw’alaams will have better access to education, health care and economic opportunities available online.”

With the installation of new last-mile infrastructure, approximately 340 households in Lax Kw’alaams have access to high-speed internet. Built and operated by service provider CityWest, the project leverages capacity provided by the Connected Coast network.

“Reliable high-speed internet in Lax Kw’alaams will enhance access to vital services, support our education and health-care systems, and open up new opportunities for our families and businesses,” said Garry Reece, mayor of Lax Kw’alaams. “We look forward to the positive impacts it will bring to our people now and for generations to come.”

The Government of British Columbia invested $196,630 through the Connecting British Columbia program, administered by the Northern Development Initiative Trust. The Government of Canada invested $523,016 through the federal Universal Broadband Fund and CityWest contributed $423,591.

Since 2017, the Province has invested $584 million to expand connectivity in British Columbia. As of January 2025, approximately 74% of rural homes and more than 80% of homes on First Nations reserves have access to high-speed internet.

In March 2022, the governments of British Columbia and Canada announced a partnership to invest as much as $830 million to expand high-speed internet services. The Province also made a specific commitment to connect every First Nations community to high-speed internet services in the government’s Declaration Act Action Plan.

The Connecting British Columbia and Connecting Communities BC funding programs support projects to expand high-speed internet access to rural and remote areas of the province. The plan to provide access to high-speed internet to all households will level the playing field for the people in British Columbia, ensuring better access to services and economic opportunities for every community.

Quotes:

Gudie Hutchings, federal Minister of Rural Economic Development, and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency –

“High-speed Internet is not a luxury; it is a necessity. That’s why the Government of Canada is working to bring high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadian households by 2026 and 100% by 2030. In today’s digital world, communities big and small need reliable connectivity, whether for accessing health care or growing a business. The completion of this project marks a significant connectivity milestone for the people in Lax Kw’alaams.”

Christine Boyle, B.C. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation –

“Access to high-speed internet is vital for supporting the growth and prosperity of Indigenous communities across British Columbia. The completion of this project not only connects Lax Kw’alaams to the digital world, but also strengthens cultural ties and supports education, health care and economic development that will unlock new opportunities for generations to come.”

Tamara Davidson, MLA for North Coast-Haida Gwaii –

“Access to high-speed internet transforms how people live, work and learn in remote and rural communities along the north coast of British Columbia. The completion of this project is a major step forward for the community of Lax Kw’alaams. I’m excited to see the opportunities this connectivity will create for local families and businesses.”

Stefan Woloszyn, chief executive officer, CityWest –

“CityWest is deeply rooted in northern B.C., and we are proud to provide improved services to another community in the North. We are honoured to deliver fibre-optic services in partnership with the Lax Kw’alaams Band. This project is not just about providing internet, it’s about enriching lives, fostering inclusion, creating opportunities and driving positive change.”

Learn More:

To learn more about connectivity in B.C., visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc

To learn more about Connecting Communities BC, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc/20530/20601

To learn more about Declaration Act Action Plan (action 4.36), visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/government/ministries-organizations/ministries/indigenous-relations-reconciliation/declaration_act_action_plan.pdf

To learn more about StrongerBC: B.C.’s Economic Plan, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/economic-plan/

MIL OSI Canada News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Press Release: Final RFP Posted for Washington Bridge Replacement Project

Source: US State of Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) today posted the final version of the request for proposal (RFP) for the Washington Bridge Replacement Project. It can be viewed as an addendum on the procurement webpage for the RFP.

The initial RFP in December required the companies and RIDOT to provide comments and questions regarding the provisions of the RFP and to work together to clarify the terms and conditions required from the companies’ in their responses to the RFP. RIDOT met with each of those companies to discuss their feedback. The final version of the RFP issued today includes changes that were mostly incidences of clarified language and better articulation of the responsibilities of each entity in the final agreements.

The issuance of this final version of the RFP today is accordance with the previously announced procurement schedule. It keeps RIDOT and the competing design-build teams on schedule to complete the review of technical proposals and for the state to make an award by June 6. At that date, the final project cost, schedule, and scope will be defined.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: International Day of Education (24.01.25)

Source: Republic of France in English
The Republic of France has issued the following statement:

On this International Day of Education, France renews its commitment to a lifelong quality education that is both inclusive and equitable. In keeping with our new international strategy on basic education (2024-2028), we are working with our partners to ensure that education has a prominent place on the international agenda.

With 250 million children worldwide still deprived of schooling, Minister Delegate for Franophonie and International Partnerships Thani Mohamed-Soilihi welcomed those who make education their priority on a daily basis at the Hôtel du Ministre today.

This event, which was organized in partnership with UNESCO, AFD and Coalition Éducation, reaffirmed the importance of investing in education for sustainable development and the key role it plays for peace and the protection of human rights, especially the rights of children. Two roundtables featured representatives of civil society groups, international organizations and AFD, as well as young activists, who discussed possible solutions to educational issues in anticipation of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be held in Seville this summer.

In 2024, the Minister Delegate for Francophonie reasserted the priority importance of education and training for French-language learning at the Villers-Cotterêts Francophonie summit. The new Collège international de Villers-Cotterêts will offer training in French-language educational frameworks as well as residences for teachers and education researchers in a multilingual environment.

In 2025, the education of girls and gender equality in and through education will be central themes of the Feminist Foreign Policy Conference to be held in Paris.

MIL OSI Europe News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Met officer convicted of rape

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A Met officer has been convicted of rape following an investigation by detectives.

PC Samuel McGregor, 33, previously attached to the Central North Command Unit was found guilty of rape on Friday, 24 January following a trial at Inner London Crown Court.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to rape at Inner London Crown Court Crown Court on 23 June 2023.

Chief Superintendent Andy Carter, in charge of policing for Central North: “I am sickened by McGregor’s abhorrent behaviour and the pain he has caused the victim.

“There is simply no place for individuals like McGregor in the Met, and we will continue to root out such vile individuals.

“I am proud of the officers who throughout the investigation displayed the care and compassion deserved by the victim, as they carried out interviews and gathered forensic evidence to show the extent of the abuse and develop a watertight case against McGregor.   

“Above all, I am pleased to see today’s result, which I hope brings some closure to the victim.

“Now that criminal proceedings have taken place, McGregor will face a misconduct hearing at the earliest opportunity.”

The court heard that the victim, who was known to McGregor, had been raped on 11 May 2021 at an address in London. She confided this incident to her colleagues at a later date, and they reported it to officers on the victim’s behalf on 2 June 2021. McGregor was swiftly arrested the day after, on suspicion of rape.

A misconduct hearing will take place in due course.

Sentencing will be held on Monday, 10 March.

McGregor was suspended from duty on 3 March 2022 after he admitted lying during a police interview.

MIL Security OSI –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to Defra denying emergency authorisation to Cruiser SB (a neonicotinoid pesticide)

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

January 24, 2025

Scientists comment to the Government’s decision to not grant emergency authorisation to a neonicotinoid pesticide.

Dr Scott Hayward, Lecturer and Leverhulme Research Fellow, University of Birmingham, said:

“Definitely an evidence based decision. Ongoing research clearly shows significant effects of neonicotinoids on several pollinators species. Research interest, and thus data, has been dominated by pollinator projects to date, but important to recognise that this is a biodiversity concern beyond just pollinators. There will be impacts on other insects and invertebrates (especially in the soil).

“Our own work shows sub-lethal doses, as low as 9 ppb (parts per billion) can negatively affect bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) performance. Some other bee and fly species species we’ve assessed don’t seem quite as vulnerable as B. terrestris – but we’ve only looked at relatively short (24 h) durations of exposure and very few species.

“Sugar beet is somewhat of a special case because it doesn’t produce flowers until year 2 of growth, so the concerns that neonics are transferred to the pollen and/or nectar of the plant via seed coating is less of an issue than for other crops – because it is harvested before it produces flowers. However, even seed coating leaves neonic residues in the environment.

“Several ongoing projects are trying to model how residues persist in the environment across different habitat types and assess to risk to pollinators and other insects more generally.

“Less data on what impact alternative pesticides might have, but simple fact is that pesticides targeting fundamental biological functions in pest species will likely have the same (sometimes greater) effects in non-target species.”

Prof Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex, said:

“For the last 4 years, our government ignored the recommendations of the Health and Safety Executive and the Expert Committee on Pesticides, both of which were of the opinion that this derogation request should not be granted. It is pleasing to see that our new government have followed scientific advice and refused the request. There is overwhelming evidence that neonicotinoids harm bees and other wildlife, and contaminate soils, waterways and wildflowers. There is no safe way to use them.

“Farmers across Europe have been growing sugar beet without use of neonicotinoids, so this should not be an insurmountable problem.”

Prof Toby Bruce, Professor of Insect Chemical Ecology at Keele University, said:

“What are farmers supposed to do to protect their crops? Without insecticides sugar beet growers face up to 50% crop losses. If the government plans to ban pesticides (neonicotinoids in this case), then it should also plan to fund research into development of alternative approaches. The situation was previously considered an emergency because farmers are left with no control measures and have no way of protecting their crops from insect pests and the serious crop diseases that they transmit”.

Declared interests

Toby Bruce: “I don’t have any interests to declare.”

No others received.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 25, 2025